Beluga

Before he could finish his musing about the extravagance of this cafe a waitress entered the room. It was a different one then the one who had lead him here, but she too had this aura of suppression. It seemed like all of the staff here was much stronger then him.

"You coffee Sir.", this time the waitress didn't bow but just put the plate with a cup of hot coffee and a little plate with some cookies down in front of him on the black crystal table.

"Thank you Julia.", once again his mentor thanked the waitress while calling them by their name and Ivan wondered whether he new the names of all the staff.

After she had left he then pushed a black card towards Ivan.

"Here take this card."

The card was approximately 5 x 10 cm of size and made from black crystal. There was only a string of numbers on the bottom while on the top right sight there was a image of a beluga whale. The image was made with white silver and it shimmered white in the soft candle light. The string of numbers on the other hand was in gold. This made the card look simple but elegant.

"This is?"

"A membership card. Of course it is only of the lowest rank. It will enable you to use some of the services offered by the Beluga Corporation. But to be honest there is only one service that is of use for you at the moment and that is the mission service, where members can give missions or accept them in order to earn Beluga points and gain experience."

"So it is like the system of the Alliance?"

"Yes, but of a much higher level. Most of the missions require one to be at least level 500 or a master craftsman."

"If the requirement is so high then how am I supposed to use this service?", Ivan asked with suspicion in his voice.

His mentor laughed when he heard the question but to Ivan the laugh seemed to contain a bit of evil.

"Of course you can't do the usual missions, but there are a few which are perfect for you. After all you have a skill like Reincarnation."

"So these missions require me to go die?", he couldn't believe that there were missions like that because he didn't think that there would be anyone who would take them.

"Not quite. What do you know about instant dungeons?"

"Not much but I have read that they are dungeons which suddenly appear and disappear as soon as someone finishes them."

"Correct. Besides that they follow slightly different rules to normal dungeons so there are some which have a low level but are very deadly. Of course these dungeons provide some rare materials which can only be found in these dungeons. And since you have a low level and don't really need to fear death you are the best candidate to clear these dungeons."

"Oh, then these missions require me to clear some deadly dungeon and get some rare material from them?"

"Yes. And the payment for these missions is great since there aren't many who are willing to do them. After all skills like your 'Reincarnation' skill are very rare."

Ivan nodded his head and moved his hand to grab the card but was stopped by Carl.

"You have to put a drop of blood on it first so you can be recognized as the owner.", he then pulled out a small knife, the likes Ivan had never seen before. The blade didn't seem to be made out of a metal but instead a crystal which had a deep blue color and through which lines of lightning, sometimes shot. The form too was unusual as the tip was thin but soon got much wider. The heft was made from a dark wood which had a prominent texture that made it seem like there were scales on it.

"This is?", he asked his mentor after admiring the knife for a bit.

"A gift. I never gave you one after you became my student so I thought today would be a good opportunity to give you one."

"It looks expensive."

Once again his mentor laughed and this time there was only amusement in it. "It sure is, but since you are my only student as well as the husband of my nice it is only fitting."

Not hesitating anymore Ivan took the knife and enjoyed the feeling of holding it in his hand. The texture of the wood ensured that his grip on it was secure and he expected it to stay this way even if water or blood got on it.

"Thank you, mentor.", he then thanked his mentor from his heart.

His mentor only waved his hand and then pointed on the card. "Hurry up and put your blood on it."

Ivan carefully used the tip of his new knife to open up a small cut at the top of his finger. As the knife was extraordinary sharp he had to just slightly let the tip slide over his skin to do it. He then squeezed out a drop of blood and let it drop down on the black crystal card. As soon as the drop touched the card the number on the card changed and there was now a F at the front of the number, which he was sure was his current rank.

<< Congratulations you have entered the Beluga Corporation >>

<< You soul imprint has been found as being already registered so according to the rules your new card has been linked with the old account and access has been restricted to the ranking of your new card. To unlock your former level please drop some blood on your old card. >>

Once again he got into contact with something from his old life. It seemed like his old self too had a membership and it had most likely been of a higher rank than his current. He just wasn't sure how much higher.